Who came out on the same day that men came out of the earth. She is not commonly seen. We hear it said the primitive men knew her. No one existing at the present time ever saw her. She is said to be a very little animal, as large as a polecat, and is marked with little white and black stripes; on one side there grows a bed of reeds, a forest, and grass;97 the other side is that of a man. Such is her form. South Africa

The most important of all Mesopotamian Goddesses, and a multi-faceted personality, occurring in cuneiform texts of all periods. The Sumerian name probably means "Lady of Heaven", and the Akkadian name Ishtar is related to the Syrian Astarte and the biblical Ashtaroth is usually considered as a daughter of Anzu, with her cult located in Uruk, but there are other traditions as to her ancestry, and it is probable that these reflect originally different goddesses that were identified with her. Ishtar is the subiect of a cycle of texts describing her love affair and ultimately fatal relationship with Tammuz.

An Arabian idol in the form of a man, brought from Syria, and placed in Es-Safa, near the temple of Mecca. Some say Isaf was a man converted into stone for impiety, and that Mahomet suffered this one "idol" to remain as a warning to his disciples.

A mother Goddess, fertility goddess, the goddess of spring, a storm goddess, a warrior goddess and goddess of war, a goddess of the hunt, a goddess of love, goddess of marriage and childbirth, and a goddess of fate. She was also an underworld deity, her twin sister being Ereshkigal, the Goddess of Death, but her dominant aspects are as the mother goddess of compassion and the goddess of love, sex and war. Assyrian/Babylon

Travels over the country making everything and leaving Spirit children behind her. She sends out her spirit children to different parts of the country telling them to talk different languages. Kakadu, Australia.

The Hades of the ancient Gauls. A dark region infested by serpents and savage beasts. Here the wicked are chained in loathsome caverns, plunged into the lairs of dragons, or subjected to a ceaseless distillation of poison. Celtic

A kind being who touched up the coyote's crude essays with a sharp stone, opening the eyes of men, and giving their hands and feet the powers of movement. He also acted as a "culture-Hero," introducing the first arts. The Chinook, Oregon/Washington

Similar to the Jotuns of Norse mythology, the Ice Giants are apparently necessary for the Apocralypse. When this came close to occurring during the events of Sourcery, the Ice Giants, described as huge beings made of ice with tiny, coal-like eyes and riding tame glaciers, hurtled down towards the civilised world. They spoke with a pronounced Nordic accent. Discworld

Imps are tiny Demons that perform minor tasks rapidly. A number of Discworld labour-saving devices exist which function by trapping small imps. The most notable is the iconograph, but others include watches, food processors, razors and personal organisers. The imps in these devices seem not to mind their jobs, although they get sarcastic if overworked or asked to do things outside their purview. Discworld

O sword, by the three Holy Names, ALBROT, ABRACADABRA, JEOVA! Be thou my fortress and defence against all enemies, visible and invisible, in every magical work. By the Holy Name SADAY, which is great in power, and by these other names, CADOS, CADOS, CADOS, ADONAY, ELOY, ZENA, OTH, OCHIMANUEL, the First and the Last, Wisdom, Way, Life, Virtue, Chief, Mouth, Speech, Splendour, Light, Sun, Fountain, Glory, Mountain, Vine, Gate, Stone, Staff, Priest, Immortal, MESSIAH, Sword, do thou rule in all my affairs and prevail in those things which oppose me. Amen. Ceremonial Magic
Zendou Ki. A protecter spirit who, along with Myodou Ki, protects En no Gyoja. Japan
Zeoteus. A son of Tricolonus, and founder of the town of Zoetia in Arcadia.
Zephon [scarcher of secrets ]. The cherub despatched by Gabriel to find Satan, after his flight from hell. Ithuriel goes with him. Milton: Paradise Lost, iv.
Zephyritis. A surname of Aphrodite, derived from the promontory of Zephyrium in Egypt.
Zephyrus, the personification of the west wind, is described by Hesiod as a son of Astraeus and Eos. Greek
Zervan, Zurvan, Zrvan. The god of time in Persian literature. Identified in the Greek texts with Chronos and, in the Roman world, with Saturn.
Zerynthia. A surname of Aphrodite, from the town of Zerinthus in Thrace, where she had a sanctuary said to have been built by Phaedra.
Zetes, a son of Boreas and Oreithyia, and a brother of Calais. Zetes and Calais, called the Boreadae, are mentioned among the Argonauts ( Apollodorus i.), and are generally described as winged beings though some say that they had wings at their heads and feet and others that they had them only at their feet or at their shoulders. Greek
Zethus, a son of Zeus and Antiope, at Thebes, and a brother of Amphion. According to some he was married to Aedon, and according to others to Thebe. Greek
Zeus, the greatest of the Olympian gods, and the father of gods and men, was a son of Cronus and Rhea, a brother of Poseidon, Hades (Pluto), Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and at the same time married to his sister Hera. Greek
Zeuxippe, a sister of Pasithea or Praxithea, was a Naiad and married to Pandion, by whom she became the mother of Procne, Philomela, Erechtheus and Butes. Greek
Zha-Zha. Angels which come against those who send the evil eye against the Baptized. Early Nazorean
Zhir u Zahrun, means "the Illuminated and the Illuminating." Early Nazorean

The Egyptians call the sacred Ibis Father John. It is the avatar' of the God Thoth, who in the guise of an Ibis escaped the pursuit of Typhon. The Egyptians say its white plumage symbolises the light of the sun, and its black neck the shadow of the moon, its body a heart, and its legs a triangle. It was said to drink only the purest of water, and its feathers to scare or even kill the crocodile. Egypt

The first architect and physician known by name in written history. Two thousand years after his death, his status was raised to that of a God. He became the god of medicine and healing. He was linked to Asclepius by the Greeks. Egypt

The virgin Goddess of the air. She is portrayed as androgynous with both male and female aspects, though she is primarily female. Despite her virginity, she was the mother of Vainamoinen, the god of music, Lemminkainen, god of magic, and Ilmarinen, the god of smithing. Finland

The solemn name of the mystic Bacchus at Athens and Eleusis. The Phrygian Bacchus was looked upon in the Eleusinian mysteries as a child, and as such he is described as the son of Demeter and Zeus, and as the brother of Cora, that is, the male Cora or Corus.

Daughter of Pan and Echo, and a slave of Metaneira, the wife of Hippothoon. Others call her a slave of Celeus. The extravagant hilarity displayed at the festivals of Demeter in Attica was traced to her for it is said that when Demeter, in her wanderings in search of her daughter, arrived in Attica, Iambe cheered the mournful Goddess by her jokes. Greek

Was a son of Iasus, and a favourite of Apollo, who wanted to confer upon him the gift of prophecy and the lyre, but Iapis, wishing to prolong the life of his father, preferred the more tranquil art of healing to all the others. He also cured Aeneas of the wound he had received in the war against La- tinus. Greek

Also called Iasius, was, according to some, a son of Zeus and Electra, tLe daughter of Atlas, and a brother of Dardanus (Theogony of Hesiod 970 ) but others called him a son of Corythus and Electra, of Zeus and the Nymph Hemera, or of Ilithyius, or of Minos and the nymph Pyronia.Greek

Also called Icarus and Icarion. An Athenian, who lived in the reign of Pandion, and hospitably received Dionysus on his arrival in Attica. The God showed him his gratitude by teaching him the cultivation of the vine, and giving him bags filled with wine. Icarius now rode about in a chariot, and distributed the precious gifts of the god; but some shepherds whom their friends intoxicated with wine, and who thought that they were poisoned by Icarius, slew him, and threw his body into the well Anygrus, or buried it under a tree. Greek

A fish-centaur, or a particular kind of Triton. Ichthyocentauri were fabulous beings, the upper part of whose body was conceived to have a human form, and the lower that of a fish, while the place of the hands was occupied by a horse's feet. Greek

A son of Dardanus and Chryse, and brother of Deimas, went with his father from Peloponnesus, by way of Samothrace, to Phrygia, and settled on the mountains of Phrygia, which derived from him the name of Ida, or the Idaean mountains.Greek

The Nymph, a daughter of the aged Proteus, who instructed Menelaus, in the island of Pharos at the mouth of the river Aegyptus, in what manner he might secure her father and compel him to say in what way he should return home. Greek

1. A son of Dardanus by Bateia, the daughter of Teucer. Ilus died without issue, and left his Kingdom to his brother, Erichthonius. 2. A son of Tros, and grandson of Erichthonius. His mother was Calirrhoe, and being a great-grandson of Dardanus, he is called Dardanides.Greek

A river God and king of Argos, is described as a son of Oceanus and Tethys. By a Melian nymph, a daughter of Oceanus, or, according to others, by his sister Argeia, he became the father of Phoroneus and Aegialeus, to whom others add Io, Argos Panoptes, and Phegeus or Pegeus. Greek

I. e. unshorn, a surname of Apollo and Bacchus, alluding to the eternal youth of these Gods, as the Greek youths allowed their hair to grow until they attained the age of manhood, though in the case of Apollo it may also allude to his being the god of the sun, whence the long floating hair would indicate the rays of the sun. Greek

Iphiclos or Iphicles was the possessor of large herds of oxen, and Neleus promised to give his daughter in marriage to Bias if he would bring him the oxen of Iphicles, which were guarded by a very fierce dog. Melampos contrived to obtain the oxen for his brother, but being caught in the act, he was cast into prison. Melampos afterwards told Astyocha, wife of Iphicles, how to become the mother of children, whereupon Iphicles gave him the coveted herd, and his brother married the daughter of Neleus. The secret told by Melampos to Astyocha was "to steep the rust of iron in wine for ten days, and drink it." This she did, and became the mother of eight sons.

According to the most common tradition, a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra but, according to others, a daughter of Theseus and Helena, and brought up by Clytaemnestra only as a foster-child. Agamemnon had once killed a stag in the grove of Artemis, or had boasted that the Goddess herself could not hit better, or, according to another story, in the year in which Iphigeneia was born, he had vowed to sacrifice the most beautiful thing which that year might produce, but had afterwards neglected to fulfil his vow.Greek

A daughter of Triops, and the wife of Aloeus. Being in love with Poseidon, she often walked to the sea, and collected its waters in her lap, whence she became, by Poseidon, the mother of the Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes.Greek

A son of Actor, and father of Eurydamas and Eurytion. He propitiated Peleus for the murder of his brother but during the chase of the Calydonian boar, Peleus unintentionally killed Eurytion, the son of Irus, Peleus endeavoured to soothe him by offering him his flocks but Irus would not accept them, and at the command of an oracle, Peleus allowed them to run wherever they pleased. A wolf devoured the sheep, but was thereupon changed into a stone, which was shown in later times on the frontier between Locris and Phocis. Greek

A son of Elatus, and the beloved of Coronis at the time when she was with child (Asclepius) by Apollo. The God wishing to punish her faithlessness, caused Artemis to kill her, together with Ischys.Greek

Daughter of OEdipus and Jocasta. Antigone was buried alive by the order of King Creon, for burying her brother Polynices, slain in combat by his brother Eteocles. Ismene declared that she had aided her sister, and requested to be allowed to share the same punishment. Greek

1. A son of Apollo and Melia, who is said to have given his name to the Boeotian river which was before called Ladon or Cadmus. 2. A surname of Apollo at Thebes, who had a temple on the river Ismenus. The sanctuary of the God, at which the Daphnephoria was celebrated, bore the name of Ismenium, and was situated outside the city.Greek

The suitors of Penelope, wife of Ulysses, King of Ithaca. While Ulysses was absent, many suitors presented themselves to Penelope, affirming that Ulysses was certainly dead. Penelope put them off, saying she would give a definite answer when she had finished the robe she was weaving for Laertes, but at night she unravelled all she had woven during the day. At last Ulysses returned and slew the suitors. Greek

A nymph from whom the Messenian hill of Ithome derived its name. According to a Messenian tradition, Ithome and Neda, from whom a small river of the country derived its name, were said to have nursed Zeus, and to have bathed the infant God in the well Clepsydra. Greek

Itonia, Itonias, Itonis or Itonius, a surname of Athena, derived from the town of Iton, in the south of Phthiotis. The Goddess there had a celebrated sanctuary and festivals, and is hence also called Incolaltoni. From Iton her worship spread into Boeotia and the country about lake Copais, where the Pamboeotia was celebrated, in the neighbourhood of a temple and grove of Athena. Greek

A son of Phlegyas or, according to others, a son of Antion by Perimela, of Pasion, or of Ares. According to the common tradition, his mother was Dia, a daughter of Deioneus. He was King of the Lapithae or Phlegyes, and the father of Peirithous. He was bound to a revolving wheel of fire in the Infernal regions, for his impious presumption in trying to imitate the thunder of heaven. Greek

Goddess of the rainbow, or the rainbow itself. In classic mythology she is called the messenger of the gods when they intended discord, and the rainbow is the bridge or road let down from heaven for her accommodation. When the gods meant peace they sent Mercury. Greek/Roman

The spear of the the Angel Ithuriel, the slightest touch of which exposed deceit. Hence, when Satan squatted like a toad "close to the ear of Eve," Ithuriel only touched the creature with his spear, and it resumed the form of Satan. Hebrew

The king of the Gods and ruler of the heavens, the god of thunder and rain and a great warrior who symbolises courage and strength. His mount is an elephant called Airavata and he has a golden chariot drawn by ten thousand horses. Hindu

The Goddess of wrath and jealousy, and a daughter of Puloman, a demon who was killed by Indrani's future husband, Indra. She is beautiful and has one-thousand eyes. She is associated with lions and elephants. Hindu